Bekhorot 27: Year by Year

So we started a new paragraph yesterday that discusses what the actual process was of how the Bechorot was given to the Kohen.

You would actually have to take care of the animal for a certain period of time before you actually gave it to the Kohen.

And the Gemara then starts to get into a discussion about Terumah, right? And this sort of makes sense because, um, you know, we know that the most common, uh, gift that was given to a Kohen, uh, would be, um, would be Terumah.

And one of the concepts that it talks about, and this was on yesterday's Daf, is the reason why you can't give a Bechorot before...

When-- If a Kohen demands the Bechorot right away, but it was before the prescribed time when you would give it, the reason why you can't is this Rav Sheshet says, "Mipnesh ani reah kohen hamasaya kivbeit hagranot," okay? Because it appears like a Kohen who assists on the threshing h- floor in order to receive the order- the owner's Terumah.

So the idea here is, is that the, the Kohen sort of looks like, you know-- So in other words, w- in the case of the Bechorot, right, when a Kohen requests an unblemished Bechorot within this fifty-day period that the owner has to care for it, right? And even if the Kohen says, "Look, I'll take care of it myself," he's basically sort of looking like he's the owner's, you know, employee, right? Like, the owner hired him, and eventually he'll acquire the animal as compensation for making the owner not have to take care of the animal.

So that's why it looks like this is the idea of a Kohen who assists on the Israel's threshing floor, right? Because it looks like if he, he makes the owner of the Terumah not have to do the work of threshing and winnowing in order-- That's what he had to do, right? He's helping the owner in order to receive his Terumah as a reward.

And that's not something that we want to have happen.

It shouldn't sort of look like that sort of the Kohen did some work for the owner, whether it be Terumah, whether it be the Bechorot, and then get some, uh, you know, and then get some reward from that.

From there, the Gemara quotes, uh, a very long, uh, Brisa, okay, which talks about, uh, you know, s- uh, s- the way the gifts were given, um, to Kohanim.

Um, and from there, and this is where I'm going to get to actually our Daf, okay? The Gemara is actually going to talk about, uh, the, the Gemara actually talks about, starts to discuss a little bit more the prohibition against giving Terumah to the Kohen who actually helps on the threshing floor.

So it says as follows: Amar Rava.

Rava says, "Terumah gutsa la'aretz," giving Terumah produce grown outside of the land of Israel.

"Ein ba mishum Kohen hamasaya b'beit hagranot," has no restrictions on account of a Kohen assisting on the threshing floor.

Okay? So once Terumah is given from l- these lands, right, that's actually rabbinic, it's not Deoraita.

So you actually can give it to a Kohen who actually helped on the threshing floor.

So that is a leniency that we have with Terumah.

So initially, we sort of have this stringen- stringency that the Gemara is talking about, that we can't have an appearance that it looks like the Kohen's working on the threshing floor.

And then we're going to see Rava gives us this leniency which says, "Well, if it's outside of Eretz Israel, actually it's allowed." And then it says, "Rav Hamnuh yahaveh leilishmaie." That Rav Hamnuh would give his rabbinic Terumah to his attendant.

Okay? And then the Gemara gives us another leniency about rabbinic Terumah.

Amar Shmuel, "Terumah gutsa la'aretz b'tei labo ro." Terumah of produce grown outside of the land of Israel becomes nullified in a simple majority of Chulin.

Okay? Biblical Terumah only becomes nullified in a mixture of one hundred and one.

Okay? One part Terumah to a hundred part of Chulin.

But rabbinic Terumah, you just need a regular majority.

Raba, Raba, and so they're going to tell us this about Raba, and the thing you need to know is that Raba was a Kohen.

So we started a new paragraph yesterday that discusses what the actual process was of how the Bechorot was given to the Kohen.

You would actually have to take care of the animal for a certain period of time before you actually gave it to the Kohen.

And the Gemara then starts to get into a discussion about Terumah, right? And this sort of makes sense because, um, you know, we know that the most common, uh, gift that was given to a Kohen, uh, would be, um, would be Terumah.

And one of the concepts that it talks about, and this was on yesterday's Daf, is the reason why you can't give a Bechorot before...

When-- If a Kohen demands the Bechorot right away, but it was before the prescribed time when you would give it, the reason why you can't is this Rav Sheshet says, "Mipnesh ani reah kohen hamasaya kivbeit hagranot," okay? Because it appears like a Kohen who assists on the threshing h- floor in order to receive the order- the owner's Terumah.

So the idea here is, is that the, the Kohen sort of looks like, you know-- So in other words, w- in the case of the Bechorot, right, when a Kohen requests an unblemished Bechorot within this fifty-day period that the owner has to care for it, right? And even if the Kohen says, "Look, I'll take care of it myself," he's basically sort of looking like he's the owner's, you know, employee, right? Like, the owner hired him, and eventually he'll acquire the animal as compensation for making the owner not have to take care of the animal.

So that's why it looks like this is the idea of a Kohen who assists on the Israel's threshing floor, right? Because it looks like if he, he makes the owner of the Terumah not have to do the work of threshing and winnowing in order-- That's what he had to do, right? He's helping the owner in order to receive his Terumah as a reward.

And that's not something that we want to have happen.

It shouldn't sort of look like that sort of the Kohen did some work for the owner, whether it be Terumah, whether it be the Bechorot, and then get some, uh, you know, and then get some reward from that.

From there, the Gemara quotes, uh, a very long, uh, Brisa, okay, which talks about, uh, you know, s- uh, s- the way the gifts were given, um, to Kohanim.

Um, and from there, and this is where I'm going to get to actually our Daf, okay? The Gemara is actually going to talk about, uh, the, the Gemara actually talks about, starts to discuss a little bit more the prohibition against giving Terumah to the Kohen who actually helps on the threshing floor.

So it says as follows: Amar Rava.

Rava says, "Terumah gutsa la'aretz," giving Terumah produce grown outside of the land of Israel.

"Ein ba mishum Kohen hamasaya b'beit hagranot," has no restrictions on account of a Kohen assisting on the threshing floor.

Okay? So once Terumah is given from l- these lands, right, that's actually rabbinic, it's not Deoraita.

So you actually can give it to a Kohen who actually helped on the threshing floor.

So that is a leniency that we have with Terumah.

So initially, we sort of have this stringen- stringency that the Gemara is talking about, that we can't have an appearance that it looks like the Kohen's working on the threshing floor.

And then we're going to see Rava gives us this leniency which says, "Well, if it's outside of Eretz Israel, actually it's allowed." And then it says, "Rav Hamnuh yahaveh leilishmaie." That Rav Hamnuh would give his rabbinic Terumah to his attendant.

Okay? And then the Gemara gives us another leniency about rabbinic Terumah.

Amar Shmuel, "Terumah gutsa la'aretz b'tei labo ro." Terumah of produce grown outside of the land of Israel becomes nullified in a simple majority of Chulin.

Okay? Biblical Terumah only becomes nullified in a mixture of one hundred and one.

Okay? One part Terumah to a hundred part of Chulin.

But rabbinic Terumah, you just need a regular majority.

Raba, Raba, and so they're going to tell us this about Raba, and the thing you need to know is that Raba was a Kohen.